Effectiveness of programmes to reduce school bullying

A systematic review

A systematic review of programmes aiming to combat bullying among children.

Bullying has probably been a problem among children throughout the history of mankind. The past few decades have witnessed a steady increase in the number of programmes to combat bullying that have been developed and tested in school settings. But how well do they work?

The publication can not be ordered

59 scientific evaluations

Finding one´s bearings in relation to a constantly growing body of research and drawing one´s own conclusions is often difficult. This also applies to research on the effects produced by measures intended to combat crime and crime related problems and behaviour. Systematic reviews are one means of helping people to pick their way through the jungle of research findings.

Systematic reviews combine a number of evaluations that are considered to satisfy a list of empirical criteria for measuring effects as reliably as possible. The results of these evaluations are then used to calculate and produce an overall picture of the effects that a given measure does and does not produce. Systematic reviews aim to systematically combine the results from a number of studies in order to produce a more reliable overview of the opportunities and limitations associated with a given crime prevention strategy.

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has therefore initiated the publication of a series of systematic reviews, in the context of which renowned researchers are commissioned to perform the studies on our behalf. In this study, the authors have carried out a systematic review, including a meta-analysis, of 59 scientific evaluations of anti-bullying programs from different parts of the world.